Papa Joe Loc: Midwest U.S.

Alecia, MT's advice is correct, but if you must work with what you have, decent pictures are possible. With a slower shutter speed and wide aperature, you can still capture fair shots. As in many sports, there are extra fast moving actions, but also some nearly 'still'. Study the game. If you shoot just after the ball leaves the shooters hand, he's usually almost motionless... snap it then! Some shots will blur, no matter what you do but they can look even more exciting... showing the action that's taking place. Give it a try and keep on trying. You'll be surprised what nice shots are possible with what you have. I shot sports for many years for our local newspaper and you'd laugh at the equipment I used at that time :)

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

That is a great solution - when they allow spectators there. The gym where my daughter's team played their home games went straight from floor to concrete block wall mostly covered with mats. I remember that very clearly, even after ten years, because in one game she was going after a loose ball when she hit an unpadded part of the wall with her head! (she and I stayed up all night together because of fear of serious concussion)

(Could you store an original picture here so the OP can see what you accomplished?)

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

i thought so also at one time, but I don't see the harsh shadows and quickly diminishing illumination that characterizes pictures from my flash. From (painful) experience I know that I have never had enough flash power to get such even lighting over so much floor.

The bottom line is that the OP needs to try some of these things suggested. That is much better than mourning equipment shortcomings!

bltindiana Loc: SE Indiana

Dangerous standing under the basket, both for you and the player.

RICARDOOO Loc: Findlay, Ohio

You have just learned that all cameras cannot do all things.

RDJpanther

You need to get the feel of the gym lights. Some older gyms have darker and lighter areas because of where the lights are positioned. Use the information on the exposure triangle mentioned from the other post. Also, when you go through the PP jot down the settings you like. You will want to carry a notebook to keep track of you settings. This keeps you from having to remember what setting you are using. This is very helpful if you follow the team to other gyms. With the limitations of your camera, ask yourself questions on what you would rather have a dark picture with sharp ball movement or blurry ball movement with a clearer picture of the person? Also, use you histogram.
Don’t be afraid to move around the gym. Plan you strategy before the game starts. Our gym has one dark end wall. This makes a difference on the reflective lighting. Is this the end you want to shoot offence or defense? How does your camera react to this? I divide the gym into sections. Throughout the game I will move around. Plan on shooting in continuous mode and do not stop once the basket has been shot. You might miss an expression or the scramble on the floor.

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

:thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

abc1234 Loc: Elk Grove Village, Illinois

I am sorry but the advice about jotting down settings is useless. We do not remember brightness or color with the accuracy needed to take pictures among different locations. If such were the case, then we would not need cameras with exposure meters or ways to measure color temperature. The rest of the advice is very helpful. I suggest that you read my earlier post for more ideas.

mikeroetex Loc: Lafayette, LA

The last 3 posts have good advice. Jotting down settings in PP, then a quick glance PRE-game is probably what poster meant. To provide a baseline starting point before the game starts. Prep and homework will give Alicia her best shot at acceptable photos!

sirlensalot Loc: Arizona

Not sure what model Rebel you are using.
One lens that is often touted for indoor basketball is the Canon 85/1.8. Have not shot any basketball, but I have older model Canons and find 1.8 lenses are a must for me for indoor sports due to my low ISO capacity as compared to newer models.
Either way, the 85/1.8 would be a good investment. You can get on ebay for $300+ or new with rebate for $369 from Adorama.
Suggest moving to manual model - start with 1600 ISO, shoot wide open at 1.8, and set shutter starting at 1/500 with the 85/1.8. I agree with MT that the combination you currently have will not work very well for your intended purpose without changing camera, lens, or both. You did not mention ISO. Suggest following Kingmapix suggestion first just in case. We don't know how well or poorly lit the gym is. Maybe you will get lucky. Good luck!

abc1234 Loc: Elk Grove Village, Illinois

Mike, I agree with you about the purpose of writing down the settings but I still say it is bad advice. The amount and color temperature of the ambient light may vary drastically from one venue to another and the eye does a poor job of measuring it for taking pictures. The rest of the advice is ok.

Between freezing motion and noise, I opt for the former over the latter. That is why I said shot in manual with at least 1/250 and wide open and just let the ISO float. One or two stops difference may not matter that much in improving depth of field. Better to use spot focusing and metering to get the action player and accept the resulting noise.

SharpShooter Loc: NorCal

R, though I DO agree with this, I don't think here that the camera is the issue, it's the lens.

Where does that Post in the last day or two here fit in, where many were saying that PRO Cameras were simply a MYTH?! :lol: :lol:
SS

GENorkus Loc: Washington Twp, Michigan

Alicia, I shot several high school b-ball games, (plus football), and certianly agree, the lighting isn't the best.

That said, shoot on manual and force your camera to take photos the best it can. You can fix them in post.

You should get reasonably good photos using one or two iso values less than your camera's max iso value. (not expanded)

Set apeture to the widest available*, the speed to aproximatly 1/250 or 1/400 and go for it. Correct for exposure in post ed.

Other tips would be to favor the players that are not going directly sideways to you and to pan them.

*Remember the apeture changes as you open the mm range. Set it at the widest angle so it will automatically change as you zoon in or out.

dickwilber Loc: Indiana (currently)

When I first went into sports photography in the 90's, flash was de rigueur for indoor sports. Basketball, wrestling, swimming (particularly sensitive sports such as volleyball, gymnastics & fencing where taken during warmups before competition), all were shot with flash. I started with a Nikon 8008, a 35-105 mm lens and a speed light with ISO 400 film and shot, like everyone else, from under the basket.

As time progressed, so did my equipment and techniques. I upgraded to an F100 and a 70-200 f/2.8 lens and shot mostly from the corner of the court. Then went digital with a D100, D70, and eventually a D200, and I added a 2nd off camera light. But all indoor sports were still shot with flash. I only ever shot in one basketball venue where it was possible to do the job adequately using only the lighting available in the gym at an ISO of 400.

Even when we went digital, we stayed with ISO 400, except for very unusual conditions. Today, digital cameras are able to shoot quality images at much higher ISO's, and judging from comments on UHH, a half-dozen years down the road, today's expectation is that you shoot these events without flash! So, to continue shooting this sport sans flash, and obtain decent results, Alicia will need to follow MT's advise and invest in better equipment!

mikeroetex Loc: Lafayette, LA

We are very much in agreement about shooting in manual for best results! But I do find a checklist helpful until techniques become habit. Sports is unique shooting because you have to react and make decisions on the fly and if you miss the shot, no do-over. Anybody can stage a shot and should get decent results in a studio setting or all the right lighting or more importantly, the luxury of time and opportunity to re-shoot.
l can't tell you how many times back in the day, when my TV news photogs came back to the sports office with unusable video that was orange or green. Why? Uh--- forgot to white balance. Not to mention poor focus or composition. Some of them were so habitual in their bad habits that they obviously didn't last very long!